Related papers: Modifying molecular scattering from rough solid su…
In recent years it became possible to align molecules in free space using ultrashort laser pulses. Here we explore two schemes for controlling molecule-surface scattering process, which are based on the laser-induced molecular alignment. In…
We consider deflection of polarizable molecules by inhomogeneous optical fields, and analyze the role of molecular orientation and rotation in the scattering process. It is shown that molecular rotation induces spectacular rainbow-like…
We consider deflection of polarizable molecules by inhomogeneous optical fields, and analyze the role of molecular orientation and rotation in the scattering process. It is shown that molecular rotation induces spectacular rainbow-like…
We consider deflection of rotating symmetric molecules by inhomogeneous optical and static electric fields, compare results with the case of linear molecules, and find new singularities in the distribution of the scattering angle.…
We introduce a new scheme for controlling the sense of molecular rotation. By varying the polarization and the delay between two ultrashort laser pulses, we induce unidirectional molecular rotation, thereby forcing the molecules to rotate…
When circularly polarized light is scattered from a rotating target, a rotational Doppler shift (RDS) emerges from an exchange of angular momentum between the spinning object and the electromagnetic field. Here, we used coherently spinning…
Alignment and orientation of molecules by intense, ultrashort laser fields are crucial for a variety of applications in physics and chemistry. These include control of high harmonics generation, molecular orbitals tomography, control of…
Several laser techniques have been suggested and demonstrated recently for preparing polarizable molecules in rapidly spinning states with a disc-like angular distribution. We consider motion of these spinning discs in inhomogeneous fields,…
The control of ultrafast molecular rotational motion has benefited from the development of innovative techniques in strong-field laser physics. Here, we theoretically demonstrate a novel type of coherent control by inducing rotation of an…
Following excitation by a strong ultra-short laser pulse, molecules develop coordinated rotational motion, exhibiting transient alignment along the direction of the laser electric field, followed by periodic full and fractional revivals…
We provide a theory of the deflection of polar and non-polar rotating molecules by inhomogeneous static electric field. Rainbow-like features in the angular distribution of the scattered molecules are analyzed in detail. Furthermore, we…
We consider optical properties of a gas of molecules that are brought to fast unidirectional spinning by a pulsed laser field. It is shown that a circularly polarized probe light passing through the medium inverts its polarization…
We introduce a new optical tool - a "two-dimensional optical centrifuge", capable of aligning molecules in extreme rotational states. Unlike the conventional centrifuge, which confines the molecules in the plane of their rotation, its…
Compton scattering of short and ultra short (sub-cycle) laser pulses off mildly relativistic electrons is considered within a QED framework. The temporal shape of the pulse is essential for the differential cross section as a function of…
We study interaction of generic asymmetric molecules with a pair of strong time-delayed short laser pulses with crossed linear polarizations. We show that such an excitation not only provides unidirectional rotation of the most polarizable…
We show that field-free molecular orientation induced by a half-cycle pulse may be considerably enhanced by an additional laser pulse inducing molecular anti-alignment. Two qualitatively different enhancement mechanisms are identified…
The propensity of molecules to spatially align along the polarization vector of intense, pulsed light fields is related to readily-accessible parameters (molecular polarizabilities, moment of inertia, peak intensity of the light and its…
We show that circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulses produce field-free alignment in linear and planar molecules. We study the rotational wavepacket evolution of O$_2$ and benzene created by circularly polarized light. For benzene, we…
Collective coherent scattering of laser light by an ensemble of polarizable point particles creates long range interactions, whose properties can be tailored by choice of injected laser powers, frequencies and polarizations. We use a…
We demonstrate experimentally a method of varying the degree of directionality in laser-induced molecular rotation. To control the ratio between the number of clockwise and counter-clockwise rotating molecules (with respect to a fixed…